Musings on mid century modern and art deco objets d'art and anything else that interests me...

Friday, November 11, 2016

Veteran's Day...

In
Flanders Field

by
Lt. Col. John McCrae

Canadian
Army Medical Corps

In
Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on
row,

That mark our place: and in the sky

The larks still
bravely singing fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We
are the dead: Short days ago,

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset
glow,

Loved and were loved: and now we lie

In Flanders fields!

Take
up our quarrel with the foe

To you, from failing hands, we
throw

The torch: be yours to hold it high

If ye break faith
with us who die,

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In
Flanders fields

(May 3rd, 1915, Battle of
Ypres, Belgium)

Penned during "The War To End All Wars" - so called because of the millions of lives lost in the bloody, years long conflict - In Flanders Fields stands as the definitive poem for Veteran's Day. It's a tribute to Lt. Col. McCrae's friend lost in battle, and as such is both a solemn memorial and a compelling call to action.

I had the privilege of reciting this poem when I was only twelve at a Veteran's Day observance in Manchester, Massachusetts, many years ago.

Back then my main focus was simply reciting it clearly and without error; now of course I grasp the deeper, heartfelt meaning McCrae intended.

And so I pause once again to give thanks for veterans everywhere...

...men and women dedicated to serving and protecting our country from all enemies, foreign and domestic.